14 DAY TRIAL // Some of the most addictive games are usually based on a simple concept, but require a great amount of logic from the player. That's just what Happy Lines does. It teases your mind and gets you addicted on winning until you just can't seem to have enough. And then you find yourself playing until the mobile phone's battery discharges just to advance one more level.
HeroCraft seems to have successfully found a way to put the best in this game, starting with the concept and down to performances. Happy Line asks very simple things from the player. It gives him a blank grid with three marbles to start with. You have to move a marble's position as to make a row of 5 of the same color or a square, depending on the level.
There are 40 levels and each of them features slight differences. In some cases, you might have to accomplish a certain amount of points while in others you will have to work against the clock and make several successful moves as to win yourself even more time.
This is actually a puzzle game, which will make you extort your brain when looking for the best move to make. Just as in most mind games out there, you also have to be able to think ahead a few moves in order to make the best decision. Happy Lines may not be as soliciting as chess, but manages to play with your brain in a way that you will surely enjoy.
Every time you move a ball but have not made a line of 5 yet, three others appear and fill the grid. This is actually the biggest challenge, that of keeping the grid clear and earning as many points. All the balls that appear after a move are randomly generated. Unfortunately, this has high chances of meddling with your plans and make victory harder to obtain.
Happy Lines is joyful and has several appealing elements that will just make you smile once you see them. Autumn seems to be the season for this game, as a leaf sometimes falls from the upper side of the screen. It might seem lovely in the lower levels, but once you work your way up to the last ones, things stand a bit differently. At those levels when you have to play against the clock, leaves keep pouring as to distract your attention and also increase the tension.
The graphics of Happy Lines is wonderful. All images come in soft but vivid colors and this makes the game quite enjoyable even after a long time of playing. Moreover, the background image is a happy and colorful one. You can tell apart from under the grid a few balloons, a bumblebee, ribbons and many green, but a bit rusty leafs.
Each marble comes with a different face expression, which immediately changes the moment when you select them for being moved to another place on the grid. This only adds personality to the game and makes it even more pleasant to play.
The only downside of this game might be that 40 levels are just not enough when you want to have more, more and more play time. Happy Lines proves to be quite challenging, but each victory leaves you wanting for another challenge, just as any respectable mind game should.
The concept of moving marbles in order to make a single line of the same color may not be a new one, but Happy Lines manages to bring it to life in an excellent way. This is probably one of the most enjoyable puzzle games brought to reality in a pleasant and highly entertaining manner. You can download the trial Pocket PC version of the game from here, but the game is also available for Symbian S60, Smartphone, Palm OS, UIQ and UIQ3 operating systems.
